


Trees, Words, and Other Games

by MickyRC



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I dunno how else to tag this really, it's just antics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MickyRC/pseuds/MickyRC
Summary: Adam's been told he has a "prelidection" for trouble. What that means is anyone's guess.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29
Collections: SOSH - Guess the Author #04 "A Gift"





	Trees, Words, and Other Games

“I say we should’ve gone down the river path.”

“Well _ I _ say you’re wrong.”

“Well… I say you’re wrong that I’m wrong and that’s the end of it!”

Pepper makes a face. “You can’t just say ‘that’s the end of it’ and be done.”

“‘Course I can!” Brian retorts.

“That’s not how arguments work!”

“It is when I’m arguing. Anyway the river path is  _ just better.  _ There’s frogs!”

“Hey Wensley?” Adam calls, ignoring the argument. He doesn’t really see what it matters if they’d taken the river path or gone through the fields on their way to Hogback. They’d gotten there all the same, hadn’t they?

Wensleydale holds up a finger for Adam to wait. He’s crouched over a milk crate with a sheet of newsprint spread over it. He’s looking for clues.

Adam continues anyway. “What’s a perdilition?”

Wensleydale squints. “I don’t think I know that word.”

“But you know every word.”

“Not  _ every _ word.”

“Most words.”

A sharp  _ clang _ sounds from behind them, followed by a whoop. Adam watches with a smirk as Brian sprints past, followed by Pepper wielding a stick. They’ve settled their differences over the path, then, and moved on to more important matters.

“Perdilition,” Wensleydale says under his breath. “Perdilition… no, I don’t think I’ve heard that word.”

“Might’a been ‘perdirection,’” Adam admits, thinking it over again.

“Oi, Adam!” Brian shouts, interrupting. “Is sharpening sticks against the rules?”

Adam looks up to find that Pepper has Brian pinned to a tree, her stick pressed against his chest. “I didn’t sharpen it,” she argues. “It just  _ came _ like this.”

“Hmm.” Adam considers the situation. Pepper and Wensley and Brian all look at him expectantly. “Pepper, let Brian up, ‘s no fun if he’s stuck there all day. And Brian, if you want a good stick, you gotta find one, it’s not Pepper’s fault she’s better at lookin’ than you are.”

The two across the clearing make eye contact with each other. After a moment to negotiate the final glare and the first move, they both nod and run back to Adam and Wensleydale.

“Either of you know what ‘perdirection’ means?” Adam asks when they skid to a stop.

Pepper shakes her head, but Brian looks thoughtful. “Where’d you hear it?”

“Mum said I have a ‘prelidection,’ or somethin’ like it for findin’ trouble.”

“Ohhhhh,” they all chorus.

“I think it means you’ve got some kinda talent for it,” Brian says. ‘That makes sense, right?”

“I’ve got a talent for maths, and my dad calls it a gift. Maybe a perdirection is like that.”

“A gift for getting in trouble.” Pepper nods.

“Yeah,” Adam says slowly, thinking it over. “Yeah, you’re right. A gift.” He grins, all teeth and sunburnt cheeks. “Bet I’m the first one to grab an apple from the orchard.”

The others yell behind him as they scramble to catch up, and Adam smiles as he races on. After all, what good is a gift if you don’t make good use of it?

**Author's Note:**

> If, like me, words starting with "pre" have stopped looking like words, the word they're aiming for is "predilection." I'm not even gonna try to say it right anymore


End file.
